Daily Independent (Lagos)
Rafiu Ajakaye and Wale Igbintade
3 July 2009
Lagos — Avoid another jamboree in granting amnesty to militants, the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has warned the government - and separate genuine agitators from criminals who have tainted the Niger Delta struggle.
However, Washington is "encouraged by the amnesty" Abuja offered the insurgents, and on Thursday pledged to continue its support for democracy, human rights, and religious freedom in Nigeria and everywhere else.
United States Ambassador to Nigeria, Robin Sanders, dropped the news during a visit to Borno, Gombe, and Yobe States, where she also impressed it on the Muslim North that President Barack Obama means his word when he declared a New Beginning with Muslims in a speech in Cairo.
The visit saw Sanders listen to the concerns of government officials, Muslim monarchs, students, and rights activists.
"My government and the people of America are committed to work together with you and your government under the U.S.-Nigeria Framework for Partnership, which is synergistic with the goals of the Nigerian people to strengthen democracy and governance - by protecting human rights, especially the rights of women, supporting religious freedom, addressing corruption, and promoting economic, health and educational development," a statement by the Public Affairs Section of the U.S. Mission in Nigeria quoted her as saying.
"We particularly note the recent announcement on amnesty for the Niger Delta and are encouraged by these steps."
Sanders said Obama has committed Americans to do better at listening, without arrogance, or malice.
"We have mutual understanding for each other so that your nation and my nation - Muslim and Christian Nigerians, as well as Muslims all over the world, and Americans - can live as part of human kind in harmony, and in peace and prosperity."
Sanders also spoke of Obama's recent call for a New Beginning for America and the American people, not only with Muslim and Christian Nigerians, but all Nigerians, and with all diverse peoples of the world.
She said a key priority of the Obama administration is "remembering to listen and learn; and that is why I am here today to listen to you and learn from you."
Her remarks climaxed a three-day visit to Gombe, Yobe and Borno, during which she visited the Governors of the three states, as well as the Emir of Gombe, Usman Shehu Abubakar; and the Shehu of Borno, Abba Kyari Umar Garbai.
Sanders visited Gombe State University and an HIV/AIDS clinic at Gombe State Specialist Hospital supported by the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR).
She also called at the University of Maiduguri, where there is an 'American Corner.'
NBA President, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, in his own take on the Niger Delta saga, urged Abuja to first accept its failing and apologise for the neglect of oil communities.
Besides, he said in a statement, the government could only grant amnesty after sifting commercial agitators.
He noted that "this administration is assuming an embarrassing status of notoriety considering its predilection for putting mediocre stamps of approbation on opportunistic suggestions.
"While we do not wish to contend with the government on the appropriateness of purporting to grant amnesty to a people serially violated by the rapacity of the ruling class, the omnibus extension of a tenuously qualified programme of reprieve to even criminals appears thoughtless.
"The government must consciously separate genuine agitators from felons who have tainted the struggle for the emancipation of the people of the region with their acts of criminality. We must avoid another jamboree.
"The government should first accept its failing and apologise for the inexplicable neglect of a locality upon which all mundane aspirations of avaricious politicians are hinged. The genuinely aggrieved must be sifted from commercial agitators who come in different forms.
"The government can then proceed on the grant of amnesty. Committing billions of Naira to a nebulous project will amount to another grand swindle."
Akeredolu also touched on the strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), urging Abuja to be sincere and stop saying it cannot fund education alone - to justify its insensitive posture to the plight of the downtrodden.
"The NBA calls on the government, which prides itself on its self-appointed obligation of service to the people, to respect the agreement it freely entered into with the ASUU for the sake of the system.
"The resort to blackmail, a veritable pastime of government functionaries whenever their acts of disservice to the nation are highlighted, will achieve nothing. The unnecessary blame game between the government and the ASUU is of no interest to Nigerians.
"How this government hopes to realise its much-vaunted vision through a plethora of agenda without quality input from the universities and other centres of research continues to beat our imagination."
Akeredolu said the administration does not appear to possess any clue about the realistic solution to national challenges.
He implored all stakeholders to intervene and save the educational system from total collapse.
He reiterated that the agreement between the government and the ASUU is a culmination of negotiation spanning two and a half years, and argued that it amounts to bad faith for any government representative to deny the existence of the pact.
"Education at primary, secondary, and tertiary levels is in a sorry state. The Nigerian elite feels complacent at the destruction of these tiers of learning because of false consciousness of class superiority.
"All good people in this country have the duty to impress it on our politicians that education must be taken seriously.
"We must not stop at talking to them alone, as it is becoming increasingly clear that these people are impervious to suggestions aimed at ameliorating the rapidly dwindling fortunes of the sector."
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2009 Daily Independent. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
